Agguato sul grande fiume

Made in 1963, this may well have been following up on the success of the first Winnetou-Shatterhand film, as there is a scene between star Hansjorg Felmy and his Indian chief friend that plays a lot like Lex Barker and Pierre Brice. In any event, Brad Harris is not the main hero here(and in this English version, his last name is NOT Cook--in fact, his last name is written in the sand at one point, so it can't be cook in the German version either!), but a young man accused of a killing he didn't commit. Horst Frank is once again convincing as a snivelling, oily crook, Colonel Kelly, a disgraced former military officer. Frank tries to deceive the local Indians and turn them against the local white population, and he also organizes the "pirates" of the title. While lacking the sweep and grandeur and the beauty of the "Old Shatterhand" series, and featuring an "oom-pah" musical score that conjurs up nothing West of Bonn or Stuttgart, the film is of historical interest because it pre-dates FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and thus the filmmakers were not working in a well-established tradition. It also features second-unit direction from Gianfranco Parolini, who would later pair up Brad Harris and Tony Kendall (here also in a small role) in many successful action films. Parolini's colorful, eccentric, circus-like style is briefly in evidence here and there, as in some action scenes we see movement at different depths within the frame, but there's not enough of his oddball touches to give the film much of the "Frank Kramer" style. Overall, if you have watched dozens of Eurowesterns and enjoyed the Winnetou series, you'll find this interesting as a historical curio. And Brad Harris fans will enjoy him in his first Eurowestern role. There's probably no need for anyone else to seek this out--if you haven't seen a German western before, watch one of the Lex Barker or Stewart Granger films based on Karl May novels instead. Fortunately, the copy of this film floating around is letterboxed, although it's a grainy PAL transfer.

This colorful Euro Western features features the debut of Brad Harris, Frank Horst, Don Vadis, and Tony Kendall into this genre! Horst plays the cold calculating Captain Kelley who masterminds pirating river boats and instigates Indian attacks. An unfamiliar leading man (Hansjorg Felmy) plays the new sheriff of the Mississippi River town of Helena. He teams up with peplum/SW star Brad Harris (playing the rugged Tom Quinthy). In this film, as well as "Black Eagle of Santa Fe", Tony Kendall plays the Winnetou type character of Black Eagle.

There is plenty of well staged action scenes, good cinematography, two different femme fetales, and an impressive Indian attack on a cavalry guarded river boat. In addition, there is an effective night scene with one of the outlaws being lured into a quicksand laden swamp. Euro western fans should enjoy this well above average, early effort.

The picture gets Western action , crossfire , Indian attacks , romance , and results to be entertaining , but mediocre . It set in the 19th century in a town called Nininger on the banks of the Mississippi River where several ships sail to the bustling city of New Orleans . Nininger town reunites gunfighters , desperadoes , as well as killings , vice , drinking , crimes and corruption . Then , the sheriff is killed and is appointed a new marshal , our starring : James Lively (Ansjörg Felmy) and as a deputy Tom Cook (Brad Harris) . Meanwhile , a bunch of outlaws led by a villain officer called Kelly (Horst Frank) live on an island in the river , from there they attack rafts , robbing them of their cargo and killing the crews . Thus , the heinous band supported by Cherokee Indians assault a steamboat called ¨Von Buren¨ from Union Barge Line . Soon after , townspeople and settlers do their best to put an end to the murdering and rid themselves of the pirates and their ominous chief . As daring Sheriff James Lively attempts to seek peace and justice and to return tranquillity and calmness that characterized the town.

A German/Italian Western based upon the novel by Friedrich Gerstäcker , it results to be an oater plenty of action , thrills , gun-play , in a word : emotion . Besides , it contains effective action sequences as when the Indian raids on the town and over a steamboat . As our protagonist has to confront a lot of bandits at a dangerous area plagued by a gang of pirates who operate raids on passing ships and traders rafts , the cutthroats are under the leadership of a nasty Captain , the ordinary baddie Horst Frank . It's a medium budget film with passable actors , technicians, production values and ordinary results . Of course , there are ritual shootouts among gunslingers confronting each other in some quick-draw duels in the accepted Western movie fashion . This is an average Spaghetti/Snitchzel Western with some moments genuinely entertaining if you can avoid thinking too much . Being realized in the wake of ¨Karl May's Winnetou and Old Surehand¨ series , a lot of movies produced in the sixties by the powerful German company ¨Constantin Films¨ , starred by Pierre Brice , Lex Barker , and Stewart Granger . In fact , in "The Pirates of Mississippi" there is even an Indian chief called Black Eagle dressed in similar style to Winnetou/Pierre Brice . It stars an unknown German actor Hansjörg Felmy and other unpopular players. And the American Brad Harris who began doing stunt work , in the late 50s he traveled to Europe and he soon found himself working in Musclemen epics such as ¨Sansone¨ , ¨Goliath against the giants¨ , ¨Fury of Hércules¨ and he eventually moved into Spaghetti Western and spy movies , Brad Harris married the beautiful Olga Schoberová , Olinka Berova , a Czech sex-symbol who played a lot of films with him . And supported by another Musclemen , Dan Vadis , who here suffers a deadly quicksand ; Dan starred several Péplum as "Hercules vs. the Giant Warriors" , "Colossus of the Arena" , "The Ten Gladiators" , ¨Spartacus and ¨the Ten Gladiators" until his early death at 49 . Other secondaries appearing are Tony Kendall who played various S.W. and Luigi Batzella as an astute paralytic judge ; Luigi , usually under pseudonym¨: Paolo Solvay , directed numerous Z-films .

This Die Flußpiraten Vom Mississippi¨ belongs an abundant group of German Westerns or co-productions , usually shot in Germany , Spain or Yugoslavia and habitually starred by some faded American actors , such as : ¨Alla Conquista dell'Arkansas or Conquerors of Arkansas¨ by Paul Martin also starred by Brad Harris , Horst Frank ; ¨Sien Nanten Ihn Gringo¨ (65) by Roy Rowland with Alexandra Stewart ; ¨La Lunga Strada Della Vendetta or Der Letzle Ritt Nach Santa Cruz¨ (64) by Rof Olsen with Edmund Purdom ; ¨7 Donne Per Una Strage¨ by Gianfranco Parolini and Rudolf Zehetgruber with Anne Baxter , ¨Sfida a Glory City¨ (65) by Sheldon Reynols with Lex Barker , ¨Last Mohican¨ (1965) by Harald Reinl and ¨Massacre at Condor Pass¨ (1976) by Peter Schamoni with Stephen Boyd .

The picture displays a resounding and inappropriate musical score by Willy Mattes . This European produced Western titled "Die Flußpiraten Vom Mississippi" (original title) or "The Pirates of Mississippi" was middlingly directed by Jurgen Roland , a craftsman who directed all kind of genres , and especially ¨Krimis¨ (Edward Wallace adaptations) such as : ¨The Strange Countess¨, ¨The Green archer¨ , "The Black Panther of Ratana" , "Destination Death" , and "The Crimson Circle"

Rapid-Film's first sauerkraut western with Brad Harris and Hansjörg Felmy

Just one year after the phenomenal success of Harald Reinl's Karl May film adaptation "The Treasure in the Silver Lake", this western based on a trivial novel by the German writer Friedrich Gerstäcker (1816-1872) was released in German cinemas. The director was Jürgen Roland, with Gianfranco Parolini responsible for some of the action sequences, who would also direct some films from the Inspector X film series a few years later. The film was produced by Wolf C. Hartwig.

In the vicinity of the city of Helena on the Mississippi, there are repeated attacks by river pirates, in which the victims sometimes even die. Who is behind this gang remains unclear. Only the new sheriff (Hansjörg Felmy) takes on the criminals together with an old friend (Brad Harris, who is also responsible for the excellent stunt scenes). Through a nasty intrigue by the main villain (Horst Frank), an Indian tribe under the chief Black Eagle (Tony Kendall) is also drawn into the conflict.

The fight and action scenes in this western, shot in CinemaScope (which is not the case with many German-made films), are excellent. Brad Harris and Dan Vadis in a villainous role particularly stand out here. Three years later, the two actors would meet again in a spectacular fight scene in the film "Commissioner X - Three Yellow Cats". Horst Frank (evil and deceitful as usual), Dorothee Parker as his sophisticated accomplice and the Italian actor Tony Kendall as the majestic Indian chief also perform excellently. In the near future, Kendall and Brad Harris should form the successful Inspector X team. The German main characters act weakly and unconvincingly. Hansjörg Felmy is unable to adequately fill the role of the hero. And Sabine Sinjen quickly becomes annoying as the "love interest", which may also be because she was dubbed by another actress.

The filming took place in what was then Yugoslavia (near Rijeka and on the Sava) and was unusually expensive for German standards at the time at more than 3 million DM.

Even if there is sometimes too much chatter like in many German films, this western is able to captivate and inspire with its good action scenes. Not only worth seeing for fans of German genre films!

Other titles of the film: Agguato sul grande fiume The pirates of Mississippi Pirates Of The Mississippi.